AVERSA, DIOCESE OF. – In the province of Naples, immediately subject to the Holy See. It comprises 63 parishes; 251 diocesan priests and 46 religious. The diocese has an area of 361 sq. km. and a wholly Catholic population of 187,500 (1948). The cathedral is dedicated to St. Paul.
The city (Adversa) arose in the Norman period, when Emperor Henry II had granted a tract of land near the ruins of Atella to their leader Rainulfo in 1022. The latter was named Count of A. by Duke Sergio V of Naples (1029); in 1038 he received solemn investiture from Conrad II. The city shared the fortunes of its counts until the last was defeated, when it was sacked and destroyed. It then passed into the hands of the Swabians, the Angevins, and was again sacked, destroyed and rebuilt (1282). In 1601 it became part of the principality of Capua and thereafter became a fief of the Holy See.
After violent conflicts between the Holy See and the Normans, Leo IX—who was also threatened by the spread of the Greek schism—yielded to the request of Riccardo I, Count of A., and raised the city to the status of a bishopric, making it heir to Atella and Cuma, probably around 1053. The first bishop whose name is known is Azzolino (1056). The fine cathedral, in Norman style, begun by Riccardo I (1053) and completed by his son Giorlando, was almost destroyed by the earthquake of 1456; it was rebuilt according to the design of C. Beratti at the expense of Cardinal Innico Caracciolo at the beginning of the 18th century. It retains the Latin cross plan, with three naves divided by pillars, and preserves around the high altar the original ambulatory of seven bays with ribbed vaulting. Besides the cathedral, Aversa has many fine churches, including: S. Lorenzo, l’Annunziata, S. Domenico, founded by Charles II in 1218 and originally dedicated to St. Louis, King of France. Abbeys and monasteries include: S. Lorenzo, S. Pietro, S. Angelo, S. Agata, S. Maria d’A. (of the Benedictine Congregation of Monte Vergine), S. Maria di Casaluce.